President Biden's visit to Florida likely to be canceled after he contracts COVID-19

TALLAHASSEE — President Joe Biden’s planned visit next week to Florida will likely be canceled because he’s tested positive for COVID-19, the White House announced Thursday morning.

Biden is experiencing "very mild" symptoms and is taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

She said the president would continue to work at the White House, where he will isolate until he tests negative and that daily updates on Biden's condition will be given during his isolation.

Biden planned to visit Tampa and Orlando on Monday, marking the second White House visit to Florida within the month.

Biden, 79, is vaccinated and twice boosted, though his age puts him at a higher risk than the general population. Biden was last tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, when his results were negative, according to the White House.

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White House officials had announced late Wednesday that the president's one-day trip to Florida would feature two speaking events. Biden planned to address attendees at a Democratic National Committee rally in Tampa. He was also slated to speak before the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, which is holding its annual conference in Orlando.

A DNC official told the USA Today Network-Florida that Biden was to focus on the importance of the upcoming midterm congressional elections during Monday's DNC rally. Democrats hold slim majorities in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

Biden last visited in July 2021 after the tragic collapse of a condominium building in Surfside, which left 98 dead. The vice president visited Tampa and Orlando just last week. She addressed attendees at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority National Boule Convention at the Orange County Convention Center.

She also discussed reproductive rights with several Democratic state lawmakers in Orlando, as well as US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. Florida law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It does not allow exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.

Harris ended the trip with a visit to U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. She met with service members and later received a briefing from military leadership.

Both trips come as Democratic leaders wrestle with issues including sky-high gas prices and historic inflation ahead of the midterms.

Those issues, among others, are proving problematic for Biden and colleagues. According to RealClearPolitics, the 79-year-old president is averaging an approval rating of only 37%.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, an outspoken critic of Biden and a rising GOP star, is widely viewed as a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender against former President Donald Trump, who has yet to announce his plans about entering the presidential race.

Trump won Florida in 2020 when he defeated Biden by more than three percentage points. He also beat Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a slimmer margin. Former President Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012.

Jason Delgado is a reporter for the USA Today Network-Florida. He's based in Tallahassee. Reach him at JDelgado@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Joe Biden's plan Florida to visit in jeopardy after COVID-19 diagnosis